Broken Ends
by ThouArtBenvolio
Summary: "He wouldn't leave without warning...right? No, of course not. Finn didn't think Kurt was selfish like that. Then again, there were a lot of things Finn Hudson didn't know about his step-brother to be..." friendship!Furt WARNING: SELF-HARM, mild language
1. Chapter 1

"Where'd he go?" Rachel wondered as Mr. Schue asked about the whereabouts of the boy who had left glee practice for the bathroom over ten minutes earlier.

"He said he was going to the bathroom, remember?" Santana replied.

"Well, he's been in there a while now..." Mercedes added.

Puck rolled his eyes. "He's probably just crying over Santana's gay joke."

"Oh shut up," Santana spat. "You laughed at the joke, Puckerman. It wasn't supposed to be offensive..."

Although he kept quiet, Finn also worried about why Kurt was taking so long to return to the rehearsal. He definitely didn't flee practice- surely he would have brought his belongings if he intended on excusing himself early. Besides, he wouldn't do that without warning...right? No, of course not. Finn didn't think Kurt was selfish like that.

Then again, there were a lot of things Finn Hudson didn't know about his step-brother to be...

~x~

Once Will wrapped everything up- saying his final words as the students started to unwind for the day- Finn headed to the bathroom. Even though they weren't brothers yet, Finn had been carpooling to and from school with Kurt.

What could Kurt be doing in the bathroom all that time? _If _he was even in there...If it turned out that Kurt wasn't in any of the boy's bathrooms, Finn would then have to check the car, the guidance office, and the auditorium. But Finn didn't want to think that Kurt would just leave and lie about where he was going, so he proceeded to the nearest bathroom and welcomed himself in.

The room was deserted aside from Kurt's figure hovering over the sink farthest from the door. From Finn's perspective, the boy across the bathroom looked absolutely fine. "Hey Kurt," Finn started, lurking closer to the shorter boy. "What're you doing? Everyone in Glee Club in wondering why you never came back. I brought your bag so we wouldn't have to-"

Finn stopped in his tracks. Kurt wasn't moving. Why wasn't Kurt moving, or responding at all to Finn's words?

_Drip_, _drip_, _drip_. Kurt's wrist, which was supporting his weight, slowly dripped dark red blood down, onto the already-grimy sink.

Kurt had cut himself. Over what? - Santana's gay joke? Kurt could usually ignore or combat those jokes and stereotypes with ease, so why would he have hurt himself? His head faced down, his breathing beame heavy and uneasy, and his wrist...oh God, his _wrist_...The blood fell from the broken skin more immensely each second. In his opposite hand was a perfectly-square, perfectly-crafted piece of small glass. Some sort of kit-like box sat on the edge of the sink.

Finn, completely speechless, stood in awe at the sight before him. He didn't know what to say, couldn't say anything, feared the whole concept of speech. But he figured every second he let himself just stare at the now-sobbing boy was just another second wasted. He _needed _to help Kurt. "Dude, what happened? Did you...? Blood..."

He figured broken-up pieces of sentences, at that point, were better than nothing. But then he really noticed the amount of blood for the first time. It began to puddle up and sit in the bottom of the sink. Kurt's cut was deeper than Finn first thought, which caused more blood to seep than just a normal scratch.

Kurt finally looked up from his position- or disposition- dropping the small piece of glass into the sink suddenly. "No Finn, no. This isn't..." Kurt tried to reply, his breath still a bit hitched. "I...I fell."

Finn may have been a bit gullible at times, but it was evident that Kurt hadn't just fallen or scraped himself. What kind of idiot did Kurt take him for anyway? Now, Finn may not have been the brightest crayon in the box, but Kurt saying he "fell" was like saying Jesse St. James "accidentally" threw that egg in Rachel's face.

"Oh Kurt," Finn began, stepping closer to the soprano. "I'll help you clean this all up...Then...I'll tell Burt what you did...what you've been...I don't...know..."

Kurt practically screamed, "No, Finn! You _can't _tell my dad! That's so inconsiderate- as if he doesn't have enough to deal with. I'm already the gay son he never expected to have; you can't just tell him I'm a cutter." Boy, was Kurt Hummel good with playing words and persuading people. Kurt's chrasimatic personality could convince _anyone_- or at least anyone with the brain capacity of Finn's- to side with him on anything.

A _cutter_. That word stuck with Finn. Did that mean- no...that _had _to be Kurt's one and only time...right? Did Finn even want to know the answer...?

"Then what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Forget this ever happened," Kurt pleaded. "Erase this from your memory."

"But...I just _can't_...All that _blood_." Finn was beginning to get queasy looking at Kurt's wrist.

"Finn, you already let out one of my secrets. When you found out I had a crush on you, you sent all your football friends after me. Do you know Dave Karofsky threatned my life?"

Yes, Finn remembered that. He suddenly felt a pinge of guilt hit is gut- he'd now felt horrible about what he said to those football guys. Finn's the star quarterback- he should be setting the example, letting everyone know it's okay to not make fun of gays. "Fine. Our parents don't find out, but I'm still making you stop this."

Kurt rolled his eyes at the older boy. "You know, you can't just come in here and take away the one thing that puts me at peace with myself."

"At _peace_? How is _that _peaceful?" When there was no response, Finn started to put two ends together.

_Cutter._

_ "You can't just tell him I'm a cutter!"_

Finn then looked to the kit. Cotton balls. Antibacterials. Various pieces of glass of different shapes and sizes. Random- full and empty- pill bottles. Band aids. A razor blade. It was then that Finn finally admitted to himself that this was not Kurt's first experience with self-harm.

"Roll up your sleeve."

The shock on Kurt's face was evident, but he refused to move a muscle.

"Kurt, roll up your sleeve. Now."

"Finn, no," Kurt pleaded. "We both know what you're going to see if I show you."

"Then just do it..."

Kurt backed himself against the wall. "Please, you don't want to see it."

Finn sighed loudly. "Do you want me to pry that shirt off you?"

Kurt protested. He rolled his eyes. He exhaled. He denied his brother. But finally, with a pout, he gave in, pulling his shirt off and over his head. Kurt's body was a sight Finn wished he could erase from his memory. What was usually toned stomach muscle now looked like weak skin. He arms were covered, inch by inch, with scars- some old and fading, some new and pink, some perfetly straight, some rough and dark. And, of course, there was the fresh slice on his wrist, releasing blood drops.

The sight that affected Finn the most, the scar that would linger in his mind more than any other, was a deep gash in Kurt's left forearm. It was, hands down, the most conspicuous of all the cuts. To have accomplished its effect, Kurt must have slashed himself deep with a razor blade.

Kurt flipped his arms over to reveal even more cuts, as well as marks that appeared to be small burns.

"Oh...God, Kurt. _Fuck_." Finn stepped forward to gently touch one of the random scars on Kurt's upperarm, which only resulted in the younger boy flinching away. "Why the hell...?"

"Because I'm tired of living!" Kurt spat. "I have nothing to live for, I just don't have guts enough to actually end my life."

Finn didn't know what to say. How coudl this be Kurt Hummel before him? He thought for a moment and realized how differently Kurt had been acting recently. He was so much more...standoffish- never begging for solos, never responding to the bullies after being shoved into a locker, never engaging in dinner table conversations... "You-You're _killing _yourself. God, Kurt, don't you see?"

Kurt looked down on himself, at his heavily scarred arms. He was ashamed of the way he looked, but at the same time felt accomplished. Who would think someone as innocent and naive as himself could pull off hiding something so noticable? He frowned at Finn's last words- how did he let himself become so vulnerable...so dependant on and addicted to the knife? He flung himself into Finn's arms, sobbing uncontrolably.

Finn rubbed his back soothingly, trying to calm him down. "Kurt, listen to me."

Kurt looked up, still leaning on Finn.

"You have _so much_ to live for. I promise." Finn couldn't even imagine himself bullying- or encouraging the bullying of- Kurt at that moment. The poor boy was so lost, so lonely; how could Finn have taken advantage of that in the past? -Just for something as minute as being gay? "Let's clean this up...I can't stand blood."

The sobbing cooled down as the younger boy pulled himself away from Finn's embrace. "Thanks Finn. I appreciate this, but I can handle it form here."

"Really? Okay, if you can look me in the eyes and tell me, honestly, that you have your life under control, I'll leave."

When Kurt looked down without a word, Finn continued, "That's what I thought. Now, I only know a little First Aid, but let's see what you've got here." He proceeded to scavenge through the kit.

By the looks of the kit, Kurt seemed so...advanced. It must have taken a lot of practice to reach the "perfection" of his cuts.

"Finn, you don't need First Aid to stop my wrist from bleeding."

"It's not just that, I'm fixing all these scars too," Finn replied, motioning towards Kurt's full arms.

A soft smile snuck up Kurt's lips as he reached for his kit. Of course, Kurt knew how to cover up his scars with ointment (and makeup until they healed), but never had the desire to in the past. He, somehow, felt better about himself after a new scar started to form. He liked the idea of the number of cuts adding up, but Finn truely wanted to help him. "You'll need..." He pulled out a small tube with some sort of ointment in it. "This. But I hope you know they won't disappear instantly.

Finn surveyed that huge razor mark he was studying earlier. That one would take a long time to heal, probably the longest, he knew. "Hey, it's an improvement, isn't it?" He grinned down at Kurt and squirted a pinch of Neosporin on a cotton ball. He started dabbing away at a random scar, which led to Kurt squirming slightly.

"Why are you so concerned with helping me?"

"Well," Finn placed his finger on another cut and started to rub it soothingly. "We're going short-sleeved for Sectionals."

Kurt chuckled a bit.

"But also...I may not have a man-crush on your or anything, but I still care about you. You're my brother, and I need to be looking out for you." When he noticed the weird look on Kurt's face he continued, "What? We _are _going to be brothers, right? Why are you looking at me like I have four heads?"

"It's just...I never expected you to say that..."

Finn looked away, not wanting things to get too emotional. "Yeah, yeah, you can thank me later. Let's hurry this up..." Finn realized, at that point, that the bullying would need to stop. He knew crossing that bridge with his football friends would be tough, but looking at Kurt's arms, and all the shit he's gone through, he could handle it. All he knew was that his brother was suffering, and they would need to stick together.

A/N: _Yay for another one-shot. This was just something I needed to get out because I'm not finishing chapter three of No Regrets, Just Love until I get my laptop fixed._

_I'm not a cutter, but the subject is really personal for me. I've never written self-harm before so I hope it's good!_ :)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: _This was originally just supposed to be a one-shot about some Furt brotherly love, but I started to get a lot of ideas, and suddenly, this is a multi-chaptered piece. Every chapter is only loosely connected to the others, in which each member of New Directions (including Burt, Blaine, and Will) finds out about Kurt's problem._

_The reason I even started writing these little one-shots is because my laptop is currently broken, and I've been living off my sister's whenever I can get my hands on it. I have pretty much chapters three, four, and five of "No Regrets, Just Love" planned out, and even started typing up chapter three, but I don't want to get into that until my own computer is fixed._

_Anyway, this chapter is Will, and this will probably be the shortest chapter. I also have most of Rachel and Brittany's done. I have Burt, Blaine, and a fill-in chapter pretty much outlined in my head. I also kind of want to do one for Santana, but probably won't only because the chemistry between her and Kurt is shaky._

_I also realized that, silly me, I forgot to add a disclaimer to the last chapter. *I do not own Glee or any characters or references to episodes. I am in no way, making a profit from this; it's all for entertainment purposes only.*_

_Warnings: Bits of slash in the future, probably some more mild language, and SELF-HARM._

_Thank you for all the kind reviews; they were so sweet! :) Enjoy!_

After everyone else had left school for the day, a very lonely Kurt Hummel sat by the piano in the McKinley High choir room. Finn, as usual, offered his brother a ride home, but Kurt politely rejected him, stating that he needed to stick around to create his Born This Way tee shirt. Finn then continued to protest, explaining that he was willing to wait a couple of minutes while Kurt did what he had to do. The bickering continued on, until a certain Rachel Berry insisted on taking Kurt's usual spot in the passenger's seat of Finn's car, which finally convinced the older boy to give in.

"_Alright…Just…call if you need anything," Finn said before running off with the brunette._ Ever since Finn had found out about Kurt 'problem' (not that Kurt admitted to believing there was any sort of problem with what he was doing) all those months ago, he had been extra protective of him. He discovered Kurt's addiction before they were brothers, and kept his promise to keep it all a secret from Burt even after their parents got married. Finn would admit, now that he was living with the Hummels, it was much harder keeping a piece of information so important away from the man he now called his father.

Finn added 'checking' Kurt arms every morning before school to his normal, daily routine. _"Okay, shirt off…" he would say to the shorter boy when they were alone in the bathroom._

_Kurt would roll his eyes and remove his top, revealing his scar-covered arms to his brother._

"_Flip," Finn would say when he was done examining one side. "Wait," he'd continue, pointing to a very fresh-looking cut. "Is that new?"_

"_Yeah," Kurt would answer very nonchalantly, only slightly looking up to meet Finn's gaze. After a moment of silence between the two he would continue, "Look, just because I'm letting you check me every morning won't make me stop. If this is what makes you happy- watching me destroy myself a little more each and every day- then so be it. But I'm also going to continue doing what makes me happy, because this is the one thing that nobody can take away from me."_

That conversation, or something similar, would repeat itself over and over, morning after morning. Even Finn would confess that it got redundant after a while, but…anything to look out for his younger brother.

~x~

The choir room was dark and deserted. Kurt was supposed to simply make his shirt and head home, but he found himself wasting as much time as possible, daydreaming as he sat alone in the desolate area. After a few minutes he walked over to the tee shirt printing machine and began to hum a melody from one of his favorite musicals.

When his creation was complete, Kurt lifted it to stare at it with pride.

LIKES BOYS

As soon as the boy was about to pack up his belongings and then, walk home, door opened slightly behind him. Out of impulse, Kurt quickly hid the shirt behind his back as Will Schuster entered through the entranceway.

Will, obviously startled, said, "Hey, Kurt. What are you doing here still?"

Kurt, slightly relieved, answered, "Oh, I…was just…doing my tee shirt…" Kurt knew it was foolish for him to be nervous talking to his Spanish teacher and Glee Club director he's known since freshman year, but ever since the incident with Finn in the bathroom, Kurt became extra anxious when he was taken by surprise by someone.

"Oh, well if it's done let's see it," Will said sincerely.

The boy showed exposed the shirt from behind his back and showed it to Mr. Schue.

"Nice Kurt," he started. "I'm glad to see you're participating in this week's assignment even though you rejoined us halfway through the week."

Kurt flashed his normal smile. "I wouldn't miss a Gaga song for _anything_." He suddenly looked to the floor, his confidence fading. "Mr. Schue…since it's just us two…can I talk to you about something…?"

Will took his student's abrupt soreness into account and said sympathetically, "Of course, what's up?"

He sighed heavily before continuing. "Do I…have to wear this shirt for the number?"

Will cocked his head slightly. "Well, I figured this assignment would be easier for you than any of the others since you're pretty much sure of who you are."

"Well…It's not that. It's the…_style_ of the shirt." Kurt knew it would be easier to just bluntly come out with what he wanted to say, but wasn't quite sure if he was ready for that yet. Stalling seemed like the best idea at the time.

Will chuckled. "Are plain white tee shirts out of style this season or something?"

Kurt exhaled heavily. "I was thinking we could be serious right now…" He continued, when Will nodded in agreement, "Maybe I could just wear…long sleeves underneath or something?"

"I guess that would be fine, but why, Kurt?"

Another sigh. "If I tell you something, can you promise me you won't tell anyone?" he asked his teacher, who he pretty much trusted more than most of his peers.

"I, um…" Will stumbled on his words. "Of course, Kurt. You can trust me."

_Okay_, he said to himself. "Well…I…I have to _show_ you." Kurt rolled the sleeves up of his shirt, and as he did so Will looked horrified at the sight.

When Kurt had his sleeves rolled almost all the way up, Will began, "Kurt…W-what happened? Do you-?"

Kurt nodded, cutting him off. "I'm…addicted, Mr. Schue. I don't know what to do."

The man didn't know what to say. Evert since Kurt Hummel enrolled in Spanish One his freshmen year, excelling above most of the class, he had been a favorite student of Will's. Then Kurt's sophomore year when he learned the boy could sing, he saw all the confidence shine through him. Kurt always seemed like one of those kids who took care of himself- inside and out. And now for Will to see the boy puts on a show for the world? He didn't know what to say. In all his years of teaching (not that that was too long; Will was still a young guy) he had never found himself speechless. All he could think of to say was, "Nobody knows?"

Kurt, surprisingly, found the weight of the world release itself from his shoulders. He was, in a way, _happy_ to have shown his true self to Will. _ I'm not hiding anything anymore_, he thought. He replied to the question presented to him, simply, with, "Finn caught me in the bathroom a few months back after I had just slit my wrist."

_Slit my wrist._ Will shuddered at that thought, at the simplicity this harmless boy used saying something so…horrendous.

"I guiled him out of telling my dad, reminding him of what happened last year when he spilt my secret about having a crush on him."

"Do you…have _anyone_ to talk to about all this?"

"Just Finn," Kurt started, "But he's not much of a help. It's not like he's a therapist or anything…I sort of wish I did have someone to talk to- not that I would stop- but just so I could get some stuff off my shoulders…"

Will just nodded.

"Mr. Schue, you're still not going to tell anyone, right?"

He thought for a moment. Now, this was a serious issue, and self-harm is nothing to take lightly, especially when it's to the degree of Kurt's. But he didn't want to let the boy down- he looked up to him, and obviously trusted him enough to confide in him. What could he do? What could he do? Then, an idea popped into his head as he repeated Kurt's last sentence in his head. "No, I won't tell your parents, or any of your friends."

Kurt's eyes got wide. "Principal Figgins?" he asked worriedly.

"No…" Will wasn't sure if telling Kurt was the best idea- he might freak out and get upset. But no…Will had to let Kurt know what his plan was- he needed Kurt to trust him fully. "As long as it's alright with you…what if I tell Ms. Pillsbury?"

Instead of the disappointment Will was expecting to see on his pupil's face, Kurt looked…happy. "That would be great."

Will smiled back, glad that his plan would help Kurt feel better. Even if talking about it with an adult wouldn't make the boy stop cutting right away, at least it would be some sort of improvement.

A/N: I hope that's a good second chapter! Okay, so the next chapter is going to be a continuation of this one, but this is not really meant to be that kind of story. So if I don't update soon (which I actually probably will) it's no big deal. And this actually turned out much longer than I expected, fortunately. Thanks for reading!


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